In the year 500, the Himyarites, a Yemenite kingdom, ruled over much of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula consisted of modern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, The UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. It was an exceptionally powerful and wealthy kingdom, dominating the trade routes in the ancient world.
They were ruthless leaders and had no tolerance for any other faith groups in their empire. The first thing they did when they conquered any land was burn the churches and massacre the Christian population. We have historical records of the Himyarites killing thousands upon thousands of Christian civilians.
If we had lived in the year 500, I imagine, I hope, if we were to see evidence of such atrocities, we would respond fiercely, condemning the Himyarites for their actions. If we were to find out that they did indeed kill innocents, that they did indeed destroy all places of worship, we would be outraged.
But there’s a detail I forgot to share with you – the Himyarites were a Jewish kingdom. In the year 400, Abu Karib, their king, converted to Judaism. Inscriptions from that era throughout the country make it clear that the ruling class and likely many others were practicing Jews.
And with that, our reaction changes. We become a little more compassionate, curious. Maybe there’s more to this story? Maybe the Christians were persecuting the Jews first, and this was a reaction? Maybe it’s an exaggeration?
I know that was my reaction. When I learned they were Jews I saw them in a more protective light.
Someone hearing this may accuse me of having double standards.
And to those accusers, I say, yes, I have a double standard. I think about my fellow Jews in a different fashion. And I’m not ashamed of it.
If someone told me that my child committed a crime, heaven forbid, I would not hide my child from the authorities. But I would certainly not post criticisms against the child on social media. If there was a protest outside my child’s home, do you think I would join the protest? Of course not. It’s my child. And they may be guilty, but I also have a moral obligation, at the same time, to look out for them.
You probably know where I’m going with this –
Are there children in Gaza who are starving? Likely.
And even though this war was started by Hamas and is still going on because of Hamas, could the Israeli government do things differently that could help alleviate the situation, even though it’s not their fault? No one knows for sure. The news is dizzyingly confusing and has lost any shred of credibility. But is it possible that there are missteps or worse on the part of the Israeli government here? It is certainly possible. Jews are not perfect. Be it the Himyarite Kingdom or the Modern State of Israel, Jews are capable of doing horrific things.
But does that mean we should go ahead and write articles or write open letters criticizing the Israeli government?
To me, this seems to be the equivalent of protesting outside your child’s window. We have a moral obligation to protect our family. Your standing there protesting may be used by the prosecution against your own child. Which is exactly what the enemies of Israel are doing.
“Look at all the Jews who are calling this out!”
“We’re not antisemites! There are Jews who are saying the same things we are!”
And before you know it, the UK, France, and Canada, rally behind Palestinian nationhood and encourage Hamas to stop negotiating.
Public statements can possibly encourage antisemites around the world to attack Jews. Public protests can possibly encourage Hamas to hold on to power and not let the 50 hostages go to freedom. I would be petrified to speak out for the chance that my statement contributed in one small way to the death or prolonged captivity of one of my brothers or sisters.
To be clear, I am not saying that we should pretend Israel or the Jewish community is perfect and cover up our crimes. I am not saying that we should pretend issues do not exist in our communities, as some do say, “to prevent a Shanda.” If you are aware of a crime, if you are aware of someone who is a danger to society, even if it is your child, you must tell the authorities. But this is not that.
Was there a private letter sent to the Israeli government, or did it go straight to the press? Do we really know definitively what is happening in Gaza? And it really boils down to one question – if this was my son, if this was my daughter, would I be so quick to condemn?
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But let’s now talk among ourselves – we’re here among family. Is the Israeli government perfect? No.
Is the desire to stay in power something that might influence the decisions made by political leaders? Yes.
Are there elements in Israeli society and the Israeli government who would like to remove all Arabs from Israel from the river to the sea? Yes, there are.
Does spilling blood, even when entirely justified, erode our sensitivity to life? Yes, sadly, it does.
Among ourselves, among family, we can and we must be honest.
Read Matti Friedman’s piece in the Free Press. Matti Friedman, for those who don’t know him, is one of Israel’s greatest defenders, and he is quite concerned about what Israel may be doing wrong in Gaza.
The Himyarite Kingdom is a cautionary tale – the one time we had power in the last 2000 years, we abused it. Today’s Haftorah is another cautionary tale of many – “Your princes are rebellious; they are companions of thieves,” roars Yeshaya. “Everyone loves bribes and runs after payments,” he screams. “They ignore the orphan and widow.” Power, warns Yeshaya, is the most intoxicating and addictive drug.
This is not to say that power is intrinsically evil. The idea that anyone who is in power is evil is a perverse and illogical idea that has taken the Western world by storm; it is one of the idiotic philosophies that fuels antizionism. Judaism does not believe power is evil. But it does believe that power is fraught with danger. Rav Soloveitchik, a fierce defender of the State of Israel, once wondered out loud what would have happened if the Jewish People had a kingdom in Medieval Europe. Would we have been different than our neighbors, or would we join the Christians and Muslims in their blood orgies?
The antisemites of the world do not need our help. Our brothers and sisters in Israel do. We need to think twice and three times and four times before publicly saying anything that can harm our family. But among brothers and among sisters, we must be honest with ourselves; we are fighting a just war, going above and beyond, but that does not mean we are perfect. We cannot allow ourselves to be infatuated with our strength nor self-righteous over our just cause. A healthy people are devastated by the death toll in Gaza, exaggerated or not. A healthy people introspect and recognize the blinding force of being in power.
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Yeshaya finishes the prophecy we read this morning with one piece of hope – Tziyon b’mishpat tipadeh. That Zion will be redeemed with justice. Justice means to not abuse our power. And justice – as defined by Jewish ethics – also means to love our family fiercely, not to the exclusion of, but before we love others.